We could be friends
by Violet26
Summary: Mokuba has Yugi and his friends over to his and his brothers' house for the night. While making his usual rounds Seto finds Joey sleeping on a sofa. He soon realizes Joey and him have more in common than he thought. Will have puppyshipping in it later. Seto/Joey


A/N I used Jonouchi's English name in this, It's easier, sorry.

Kaiba walked past the study where his brother had entertained the evenings' interlopers. He had a habit of patrolling the halls and rooms of his very large, (unnecessarily so, he was beginning to realize) home. Seto realized with having the best high-tech security the walk and search wasn't needed but he found a comfort in doing things himself.

There were few things in his life that the eldest Kaiba brother cared about, outside of his company and dueling, (the latter was becoming less important to him the older he got) except his brother and their security. Making sure things were as they should be gave him an added piece of mind.

His routine was what brought him to the study. He had walked past it but stopped in his tracks as he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He walked back to the door and shook his head when he noticed the lights were still on. With the late hour Kaiba figured everyone would have gone to the guest bedrooms for the night. His brother must have forgotten the light. _"How many times have I told Mokuba not to be wasteful"_ he thought.

Seto opened the door and walked in. He quickly found the switch and with a glance around the room he went to turn the lights off. He had to do a double take, however, when he noticed a sleeping figure sleeping on the sofa.

Seto sighed. He knew the teen from his year in school but the boy was friends' with his younger brother. Seto had asked Mokuba several times why he insisted on making friends with students from Setos' class instead of ones from his own but he never received a straight answer.

Seto knew the other teen well enough, his name was Joey Wheeler. He had to admit he never really cared for him, not that he liked a lot of people but something about the blond boy bothered him. The boy was loud, clumsy and lucky. He was a top duelist along with the boys' friend, Yugi, and Seto, himself, but even that seemed to come from sheer dumb luck and it annoyed Kaiba to no end.

As the oldest and his brothers' keeper, Seto worked hard all his life. He fought for and earned everything he had, (maybe he had used some questionable methods to get it but that was up for debate) . He still worked hard to this day, between school, his company and his brother. Seto didn't have room for luck and he had no desire to get to know someone who's whole life seemed to depend on it.

A groan coming from the sleeping teen brought Seto out of his thoughts. He looked closer at the boy. His eyes narrowed when he saw a stain on the sofa that seemed to be coming from behind the blonds' right shoulder. It seemed to be getting larger and darker.

Seto quickly crossed the room and grabbed the teen by the upper arm. He carefully pulled the still sleeping boy forward to check the stain on the sofa and on the blonds' shirt. He cursed silently when he realized what it was. He pushed the boy back into his original position. "Wheeler," He called out. "Wake up!"

The boy groaned awake. "What?"

Seto grabbed the blondes' arm again and pulled him forward. "What the hell!" the boy cried.

"What's wrong with your back?" Seto asked sharply.

"What?" The blond asked, trying to focus on what was happening. He felt confused at first then realized what the other boy was referring to. He yanked his arm away roughly and cringed a bit. "None of your business, money bags!" he spat.

Seto grabbed the blondes' arm once again before he could leave. "None of my business?" He questioned angrily. "How is not of my business when you're bleeding all over my very expensive furniture?" He snapped.

Joey tried to pull his arm away again but couldn't. "Oh, I get yer concern," he began. "I worry a lot over my furniture too." he finished sarcastically.

Seto ignored the other boys' remarks and began walking out of the room, the blond in tow. "Hey!" Joey protested. "What are ya doin' '" He tried to yank away again but only succeeded in causing himself more pain.

Dragging the teen out the door and down the hall was no problem for Seto, despite Joeys' struggles. Seto easily had a good couple of inches on the other boy and because of his added height and muscle, he was a good twenty pounds heavier. "You need to get that looked at." Seto stated flatly.

"I can do it myself!" Joey shouted. He had stopped struggling but wasn't going to follow Seto anywhere without protest. He especially wasn't going to explain to the brunette how he got the bleeding wound. "Would ya let go already?"

"The guest rooms aren't that far away, you'll wake those friends of yours if you keep shouting." Seto stated matter-of-factly.

Joey sighed. He didn't want to wake his friends up unless he needed to. He let Seto lead him the rest of the way in silence.

The two rounded a corner and came to another long hallway. Down that hallway and past a couple of doors they stopped. Seto pulled Joey into the room they had stopped in front of and closed the door behind them.

Seto gestured for Joey to take a seat but the teen stood, in protest. Seto shrugged and walked back to the door. Pressing a button on the intercom on the wall next to the door, he called for one of the servants to bring some first aid supplies to the library.

Joey stood cross-armed by the sofa and waited as patiently as he could for Seto to say something. Seto remained silent as he waited for the servant. He took a seat next to a large fireplace in the room.

Within minutes there was a knock on the door. Seto let the servant in and gave his thanks. The man gave a quick bow and turned to leave but was stopped by Seto's hand on his arm. "Tell no one about this." The command was quiet but firm. The man nodded and left.

With the supplies in hand, Seto walked over to the other boy. "Take off your shirt." he said flatly.

Joey stared at Seto in disbelief. With a brow raised he asked, "Where are ya going with this, money bags?"

Seto glared. "Your wound needs to be treated and covered properly before you ruin any other furniture in my house."

Joey narrowed his eyes. "Gee, thanks for yer concern" he replied sarcastically. "but I can do it myself."

"Go ahead then." Seto challenged and handed the supplies to the blonde.

Joey frowned. His wound was on his back and it wouldn't be possible for him to clean it up properly without help. He sighed, knowing he would have to give in. "Fine." he said through gritted teeth, handing everything back.

Seto waited for the boy to remove his shirt and turn around. He had trouble not letting the shock and dismay show as he observed the large cut on Joeys' back that seemed to be surrounded by black and blue. "I don't think you need to see a doctor unless you want to" he said as indifferent as possible.

"No!' Joey snapped. "I'm fine, just, let's get this over."

Cleaning Joey's wound carefully, the brunette boy remained silent. Once the cut was cleaned and properly bandaged he spoke up. "Your father?" he questioned.

Joey looked at Seto surprised after he finished slipping his shirt back on. The surprise on his face quickly disappeared. "Told ya, it's none of your business."

Seto figured the teen's refusal to answer him confirmed what he suspected. Had he seen the wound in an earlier year he would have assumed it was from a fight, Kaiba knew about the company the boy used to keep. Things had changed over the years and the other teen no longer got into those fights. "You live alone with your father." he stated.

Joey had crossed the room and was about to leave when Kaiba had spoken up. He stopped and turned to face the other boy. "Don't mean he did anything."

Seto sighed. He didn't know why he insisted on continuing the conversation but he felt there was something he needed to share with someone who could relate to him. "Sit down." he told Joey. When the blond didn't respond he added, "please." He said the word through gritted teeth, it felt foreign to him. He normally told people what to do and they did it, no questions asked.

Taking in a deep breath and releasing it slowly, Joey gave in, it wasn't every day he heard the eldest Kaiba brother say please. Joey hadn't even been sure, until now, Seto knew how to be polite. He walked back to the sofa he had been standing next to and sat down.

Walking to the door, Seto locked it. He then crossed the room to stand in front of the blond, plenty of distance between them but still within view in the darkening room. He had his back turned to the other boy.

Joey waited patiently as he watched the teen in front of him. Seto's arms seemed to be moving and after a moment the boy lowered his shirt off his back enough to show Joey a long, jagged scar running from the blade of his right shoulder down to the middle of his back. Joey tried not to make a sound of shock as he stared.

Seto covered his scar back up and turned around as he re-buttoned his shirt. "My father." he said bitterly. He had meant of course Mokuba's and his adoptive father but that was an unimportant detail.

"Wow," Joey said, it was the only thing he could say.

"Never laid a finger on Mokuba but that wasn't the first mark he left on me." Seto's tone was neutral but he still felt the bitterness inside him. _"It was the last one,"_ he thought. _"I made sure of that."_

Joey's eyes fell on the floor. "Guess we have more in common than I thought." Seto remained silent. "Hey," Joey looked up. "No one knows, ya can't say anything."

Seto shook his head, "Not if you don't."

Joey nodded. He wasn't about to tell anyone what Kaiba had shared with him, he was just shocked it had been him whom Seto had shared with.

"You should say something though." Seto spoke up as Joey got out of his seat.

Joey glanced at the other teen for a moment, then shrugged. "Maybe." He went to the door without another word. He stopped when he reached for the handle and faced Seto. "Ya know, if ya were nicer, like this, all the time, we might be able to be friends." The brunette remained quiet." Joey frowned and turned back to the door.

Seto watched the boy leave the room. "Friends," he thought as he slumped into the chair next to the fireplace. "Now there's one thing I can't afford."


End file.
